Yet somehow, amid much speculation that Utah Coach Urban Meyer will replace Willingham and that Davis thus becomes a leading candidate at Florida, another coach's name keeps popping up -- even though he has issued three statements that indicate he isn't interested in the job.

Oklahoma's Bob Stoops still isn't off UF's radar, powerful booster Ben Hill Griffin III told the Sentinel. Stoops was UF's defensive coordinator from 1996-98 under former coach Steve Spurrier. He won the national title in 2000, his second season with the Sooners.

"I think Bob Stoops has a great admiration [for Florida] that runs very deep that he can look back on," Griffin said. "He has a most successful program [at Oklahoma], but is it where he wants to see himself in one year, three years or five years from now? What about 30 days from now?

"You just keep knocking on that door, and it might just open."

Stoops' Sooners play Colorado in the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday, and if they win, they'll play for the national championship Jan. 4 in the Orange Bowl.

New UF President Bernie Machen said he hopes to have a coach in place this month, although he said that isn't completely necessary.

"We hope to have this taken care of before Christmas," Machen said. "But for now, I've been staying out of it. Jeremy [Foley, the athletic director,] has been handling everything."

Through a spokesman, Foley declined to comment about matters concerning the coaching search.

Machen, who was president at Utah when Meyer was hired, is close to Meyer but might not have enough influence to keep him away from Notre Dame if that job is offered. Meyer, from Ashtabula, Ohio, spent five seasons (1996-2000) as the Fighting Irish's receivers coach, and Notre Dame is said to be his dream job.

Meyer has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave for Notre Dame, Michigan or Ohio State without having to pay a $250,000 buyout.

Fueling further speculation, Meyer's current offensive coordinator, Mike Sanford, took his name out of contention for the UNLV head-coaching job Monday. Sanford and Meyer met at Notre Dame when both were assistants under Lou Holtz.

Does that mean Meyer is out of the running at Florida? Certainly not. But what at one point seemed like a sure thing seems to have hit a snag.

Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White said Tuesday he has had no contact with Meyer and said he made the decision to fire Willingham without a potential replacement in mind.

"We haven't done a thing in terms of the search at this point," White said. "We haven't begun, haven't lifted the phone up at this point."

Compared to Notre Dame, Meyer at Florida would be inheriting a team much deeper in talent. He also likely would get a bigger paycheck if he were to coach the Gators.

Then again, depending on who is asked, Meyer might not be at the top of Florida's list anyway. Some say Davis' resignation signals his interest in the vacancy, and sources told the Sentinel last week that Davis and Florida share a mutual interest.

Davis was coach at the University of Miami before he went to the Browns. He is known as an ace recruiter and a good motivator, and 22 of his UM signees later became first-round picks in the NFL draft. But his game-day acumen as a head coach has been questioned, and he's not considered a strong X's and O's guy.

That said, Miami Athletic Director Paul Dee -- a Florida alum, a close friend of Foley's and Davis' former boss -- thinks Davis would be a good hire for the Gators.

"I can see Butch going to a top-ranked college and taking over and doing very well," said Dee, who still has heard Meyer remains Florida's top choice. "He likes to play at the top. He'd prefer to have a program to get there."

Other names surfacing as potential candidates include Louisville's Bobby Petrino and Boise State's Dan Hawkins. Coincidentally, their teams will meet in the Dec. 31 Liberty Bowl. Hawkins' team finished an 11-0 regular season last Saturday. Louisville (9-1) meets Tulane on Saturday.

In the meantime, a source close to Zook told the Sentinel that Zook was interviewing for the head-coaching vacancy at Illinois and that he also would be a candidate if the Pittsburgh job opens.